Intertwined
by Aerase
Summary: "If you look back, you'll notice everything is connected, we're all intertwined in this web of lies" (Marriage law fic but not really, writer just too lazy to think of another way for all this to happen)
1. Strike me

_02 Sept 1998_

It was a night like any other. The gentle snores of the other Slytherin girls made Pansy feel less lonely as she stared at the water pushing mightily against the window. The clock above the door said 3 o' clock and Pansy glanced at the empty bottle on her nightstand. Silently she stuck it under her bed and laid her head down on her pillow. Gingerly she closed her eyes and started counting.

She managed to count until eighty before she felt her body drop and she floated away into a dreamless sleep. A dreamless sleep is much like fainting or blacking out in that, you never know what has happened while you were unconscious and you never how long you've been out for. It's a bit like giving your mind a straitjacket while your body goes to a spa. Perhaps that's why Pansy enjoyed it so much, it meant that she got a break.

Unfortunately she seemed to enjoy it so much that she had a tendency to oversleep, much like today. She shot upright with a start when she realised that the sun had already risen as well as most of the dorm. Smelly, unkempt and heavy-eyed, she was every bit the woman she tried not to be. Still, she had no time to groom herself and bounded up the stairs to the great hall hoping to find at least one pastry intact.

Luckily there were many intact and she stopped for a second to consider the idea that they may be poisoned before her eyes fell on the newspapers in her gobsmacked bench mates' hands. The Slytherin table was fairly quiet in comparison to the Gryffindor table. She watched as Harry Potter crumpled his copy of the paper and threw it at Ron. He began saying something that seemed to interest the entire house.

'No wonder he's so calm, he'll probably get out of it' Pansy thought while slumping down and shoving a spoonful of dried fruit and nuts into her mouth. She chewed for a minute before she attempted to lean over Greengrass's shoulder to learn about what had captivated the school so greatly. After catching a glimpse of the words 'Law', 'Pureblood' and 'two years', her attention was grabbed by the arrival of the minister of magic.

On the podium, the minister of magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt stood tall as he began to address the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Kingsley began.

"As you may have read about in this morning's issue of the daily Prophet, the ministry of magic has decided to implement measures that will ensure that the diminishing wizarding population will thrive in later generations. Unfortunately all of you are required to make that a reality." He continued, ignoring the glares he was receiving from many teenagers in the room as well as the exasperated sighs emitted by Minerva McGonagall.

"For the rest of this year you will spend your time in co-ed dormitories with your assigned partners. This means you will have the time and the opportunity to experience married life that we desire you have. If after a year you decide, you don't want that life, it's okay, you don't have to follow the ministry's plans. Unfortunately you will still have to find a partner and have a child by the time you're 26." Kingsley looked apologetic.

"I'm sorry but you're our only hope. This whole marriage thing, is just the quickest most non-invasive way of achieving a goal that will benefit the community as a whole. Believe me, I've fought alongside a good few of you, I wouldn't be standing here and requesting you to partake in this experiment if I didn't believe it was the best way to do this. That's all this is, an experiment, a trial for the real world we are going to have to live in." Kingsley looked assuringly at the crowd.

McGonagall butted in, in an attempt to end the speech, "If you all will follow the appointed Ministry Officials to your left, you will be taken to your new dorms for the sorting ceremony."

"Ah, yes! The sorting ceremony! Just like the sorting hat the ministry has had in its possession a scarf which has the ability to partner people who are compatible by personality and such," said Kingsley.

"If you think about it, it's like one of those muggle dating shows. It's all very exciting and romantic!" exclaimed Mr Weasley from the shadows by the wall.

"Oh dad!" groaned Ron before Harry shushed him.

Glumly, the students shuffled out of the great hall towards the staircases.

A short man with blond hair started to wave his hands in an elaborate gesture for them to follow him. They began what seemed like an endless trek upwards and then sidewards and then upwards again.

"Merlin, how are we going to advance the magical community if we're going to walking up all these bloody stairs everyday?" Pansy heard Ron moaning in front of her.

"Mr Weasley! There will be no procreation under my watch! You have until you turn twenty-six!" Professor McGonagall called out to him, earning giggles and sniggers from many of the seventh and eighth year Hogwarts students.

"Right, here we are!" The man called weakly causing only the people directly behind him to stop while the others came crashing into them. Once everyone caught their breath and rubbed their sore body parts, the sorting began.

The man conjured a chair and unveiled a scarf from inside his coat. The group of students parted like the red sea for his first victim, Hannah Abbot.

Hannah shook surprising little as the scarf snaked around her neck and head eventually draping itself over her chest, close to her heart. Then its eyes blinked and a course, grandmotherly voice called out, "Neville Longbottom!"

Pansy glanced around and found Longbottom grinning ear to ear as he slowly managed to shuffle past the crowd. She found the rest of the sorting boring and predictable, that is until the man reached Granger.

Hermione Granger expected her match to be Ronald Weasley or perhaps another Griffindor boy, at the very least he would be a Ravenclaw. Jaws all around the room dropped when the scarf bellowed out Draco Malfoy's name.

The boy in question appeared to be attempting to blend in with the wall behind him until Professor McGonagall threatened to walk over and drag him to Hermione. Hermione had already left the hallway in search of her room and most likely a bathroom to have a little cry in.

The rest of the room waited with bated breath for their turns in the fear that they might be in a similar situation to the girl who knew everything but what to do in the present situation.

Pansy started counting again and reached 60 before her name was called and she lumbered over to the stool.

The scarf began to whisper to her, "Hmmm…Interesting, you seem more anxious than the last. You've got potential girl if only you had used it. But what's in your heart? Have you ever felt real love?"

Pansy hesitated in answering before the scarf screamed out a match she deemed worse than Granger's, simply because she had to live with this.

"Ronald Weasley! Do I need to remind you of what I told Mr Malfoy?" Professor McGonagall was the only person in the room with their wits around them. The rest of the room seemed to have their eyes popped out as Ron walked over to her. He sneered and she shivered and lead the way through to the rooms.

'At least it's only one year' Pansy thought.


	2. Beige and boring

_05 Sept 1998_

Draco stared at the red flower pinned to Pansy's dark hair; it was a blood red. His mind flashed back to the last time he saw that colour on her. It was the beginning of July and he had returned from the Ministry's rehabilitation session for former dark side wizards. She had stormed in crying and spluttering about how it was unfair, she had been covered in blood. He had never found out what she was talking about. The trial had taken over his thoughts before his ministry approved relationship came into view. Now he only found solace at meal times when he could sit at the Slytherin table and eat in content silence.

The steel coloured boy walked through the halls of Hogwarts with a heavy heart. The last year at his favourite place in the world and he was to spend it in a small holding far above his beloved dorms. Malfoy's hand touched the door knocker on room number 5 before removing his key from his pocket. Just inside the door a cardboard box lay full of tattered robes and shoes belonging to one Hermione Granger. It had been four days since he and Granger began to 'live together' under the ministry's directions and their little dorm was still in a state of moving in. Granger was constantly bringing back stuff she would have no space for and Draco was constantly breaking his belongings after realising the memory of it had been tainted. They made excellent roommates.

With only the introspection of the past four days anyone could tell you that the ministry's plan was doomed to fail in the next month. It seemed like the scarf was nothing but a farce, with no knowledge of what people were like or how they would be happy in love. It had matched Draco Malfoy with Hermione Granger for goodness sake! Not to mention that the neighbouring couple was Pansy and the Weasel King himself. Luckily the boy who lived got paired with his lady love, the female Weasley and Longbottom had been paired with a tame, easygoing Hufflepuff or Draco would have to deal with all of Granger's friends visiting him after a fight.

He supposed he was a bad friend, Pansy looked like shit at her trial. But then he supposed, he and Pansy were never really that close friends. Slytherins often showed bonds that weren't there. It made the others think you were connected in a way that made you powerful.

Before Draco could close the door, he caught a wiff of sickly sweet perfume and spun around to find his favourite of Granger's friends, Looney Lovegood. Her white ear rings complimented her silver outfit.

"I brought these notes on charms for Hermione. Tell her the finkledinks said they'll be gone by twilight so she should hurry and feel better by then," she spoke in a low tone, running off as soon as she had pushed the stack of papers into his hands.

'Thats's odd' he thought,' I thought wild cats didn't get sick." He grinned to himself.

"Hey Granger!" He yelled up at her door.

"Granger!" he tried louder before deciding it might be okay to open the door.

The door swung open to reveal an empty bed and an open window. He slowly inched forward into the room, his eyes darted around nervously. His shoulders lurched up as Granger's voice carried over to his twitching ears.

"Oi! Malfoy! What are you doing in my room? I thought we were staying out of each other's way?" Hermione huffed and crossed her arms.

"I was just looking for you and you weren't answering. Just wanted to make sure you were all right!" He shivered under her glare and pressed the charms notes into her hand before slinking off to his room.

* * *

 _07 Sept 1998_

The anxious tick of the clock behind him and the crunch of leaves hitting the kitchen window made the little hairs on Draco's neck stand up. He was sitting with his legs crossed on Granger and his' cream and beige kitchen floor. His eyes followed Hermione's god forsaken cat around the room as he climbed about the furniture. They were both growing restless waiting for the brown haired girl to come out of the bathroom.

The slow growing of light in the bathroom caught Draco's eye and he turned to lift himself up and walk over to the door by the front door. He heard the soft and muffled thud as a Granger-like weight was harshly dropped onto the hardwood floor. It was immediately followed by the sound of retching and vomit splashing into the sink. Draco paled and looked down. He figured a cleansing spell would do until he could bathe later that night.

* * *

 _08 Sept 1998_

 _The sky filled with smoke as the slender figure rose from under the clouds to paint the air in front of her red with the blood of the hooded man. Her brown hair was matted with blood and salty water, her face covered by a large bloodied handprint yet, her eyes sparked with determination. She lunged forward to grab the sword currently sticking out of the armoured body on her dining room floor. She walked up the stairs with her wand in one hand and the sword in the other, reaching the landing at a snails pace._

 _Her voice shakes as she whispers, "Alohamora". The sword and wand both drop as the sight in front of her comes into view, dropping her to her knees in shock. Above her silky green bedsheets, a rope is hung from the ceiling with the bodies of the two people she loves most in the world limply hanging on the other end. Their blood is spilt onto the mahogany floor in puddles. She looks away at the sight of the mutilated persons, with large slashes and twists dug into their flesh they couldn't have died painlessly but at least quickly. She shakes with fear as she looks to the heavens and trembles, "I'm sorry … I'm… sorry. I couldn't get here in time…forgive…" She collapses into a heap on the floor as wizards flood the room. She lets herself be taken away by the minister of magic. She lets them question her for hours. She lets them strip her of her dignity._


	3. Umbrella

08 Sept 1998

Ron Weasley found himself on his bedroom floor at one 'o clock in the morning for the fifth time that week. His eyes flicked over to the light straying in between the cracks in his bedroom door from the bathroom. He hears the familiar sound of a tap turning and his partner gagging. He waits for her to turn the tap off and come out of the bathroom.

For a second he just observes the sweat pouring down her back and the way her hair clings to her. After watching her collapse onto her bed, he stands far enough so that she cannot see him. Wand raised tentatively, he casts a cooling charm on her room. He then retreated into his bed, only to lie awake until the sun peeked its head around his blood red curtains and kissed his nose.

The light permeated every part of their living area except for the kitchenette where Pansy stood with a glass of water and a pill in her hand. Ron wiped his nose on his sleeve before nodding in her direction and swinging his bag onto his back. He moved quickly out the door and down the stairs as if he were trying to avoid his good deeds altogether.

Ron sat the Gryffindor table and wolfed down his porridge while Hermione looked despondently at her plate.

"I think I rather head off to the library," she said.

"Hermione, what's going on?" he asked, blunt as always.

"Ron, when haven't I wanted to go to the library?" Hermione had an uneasy smile on her face.

"When have you spent all week in the library? Especially now that you can enjoy Hogwarts without any worries?" He asked.

"Maybe you don't have any worries but I do," Her voice was soft, barely a whisper above the din of the great hall.

"Mione, Harry and I are here for you. If something really is bothering you this much then at least tell us! We didn't go through a war to be this distant to each other!" He copied her soft tone.

"You're right," She nearly fell back onto the bench.

"It's been known to happen," He smirked.

"If I eat my eggs, will you let me go to the library oh great one?" She rolled her eyes.

"Only if me and Harry come with you," He had a smile on his face but Hermione knew he was not joking.

"Alright," She said.

Ron had never seen Hermione eat that quickly before, she nearly put him to shame. She swung her legs over the bench and began power walking towards the library. Ron abandoned his idea for porridge on toast and grabbed Harry by the collar.

"C'mon we're going after her," He muttered.

Harry had to be dragged until the corridor where he pulled away from Ron and walked briskly aside him, where he grumbled about being a hero.

They entered the library and found Hermione already approaching a bookshelf in a secluded area.

"Right so, what's going on?" He asked impatiently.

"Neither of you have really met my parents, right?"

"Yep,"

"Well, before I left for Bill and Fleur's wedding, I wanted to make sure they were safe," She started.

"Did you send them into hiding?" Ron asked.

"Well kind of?"Hermione shifted.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"I oblivated them and sent them to Australia," In one swift breath, the source of her troubles was revealed.

"Great but you know going into hiding would have worked too, I mean the Dursley's are still alive from what I've been told," Harry huffed.

"This seemed easier at the time," Hermione argued.

"Look, they're safe right?" Ron interjected.

"Yes, they are," She whispered.

"So…" He pressed.

"I don't know how to get them back and restore their memories," She looked up into their eyes.

"Well I'm sure someone in the Ministry would know," Ron blurted

"Ronald! I'm not going to leech off of the Ministry's resources because I am having a mild inconvenience in finding somebody I made go missing." she said quickly.

"Mild Inconvenience? You're not eating and I bet you're not sleeping too," Harry and Ron ganged up on her.

"Yes, but I don't think this is going to be high on the Ministry's priority list, they've got rogue death eaters to still deal with and rebuilding and this stupid law,"She babbled.

"She's got a point mate," Harry said.

"If I don't put in the effort to get them back, it might be too late for the Ministry to do anything," She said.

"Well then, we better start helping you,"Harry smiled at both of them.

The three of them silently glanced at each other before moving off to their morning classes.

Ron was so tired by the time he returned from the library that he almost dropped his bag onto Pansy's head on the couch.

"Weasley," She greeted him.

"Parkinson," He replied.

"We have a meeting with Professor McGonagall tomorrow, don't forget to meet me by the great hall," she reminded him.

He merely nodded his head in return and walked into his bedroom expecting to be awoken before dawn.


	4. Shits and giggles

09Sept

Ron had gone pProfessor McGonagall's office expecting to be lectured about the new marriage law. He had not been disappointed. He had just been told that under the roof of the Hogwarts Castle McGonagall would not tolerate any mucking out . His face had matched the colour of his hair. It was unlikely too, that he would be mucking about as she put it. Despite having the Weasley genes, he felt no reason to procreate after the war. It was as if somebody had put out the constantly playing radio in his head with a sTunning spell. All his thoughts had the backdrop of utter silence. All he thought about was what he was going to do in an hour and lately, which book to look for next. He had promised to help Hermione in her quest and he would not fail. It gave him something to do.

The second thing the Professor said was that he and Parkinson would have to come in to her office once a week to collect an assignment based around the Ministry's new laws. It was somewhat like the correspondence learning that he had read about. He just prayed that the assignments wouldn't involve teamwork. There was only so much he could handle after the war.

He liked being surrounded by familiar face and places. It upset him greatly that he couldn't spent the last year of his schooling in the red dormitories that held some of his fondest memories of brotherhood and learning to be his own person. A bedroom is private not only because it is the place where a person is most vulnerable, in their sleep, but because people tend to place exorbitant amounts of time lying down and thinking about themselves nd their lives. It is a place of reflection and character building. A bit like the muggle therapy Hermione had spoken about. Ron supposed it was alright to still be in the castle even if it wasn't his favourite bed, it was still a bed.

He supposed it angered him that he had to share a space with somebody who had been on the opposite side of the war from him rather than his best friend. But he also supposed that the brunt of the anger and sadness would be felt by his roommate, Parkinson would be more depressed about the living situation as she had lost the war. It provided him an opportunity to gloat like no other. Not that Ron would gloat, he was a mature and emphatic young man. Besides he had no energy to gloat. Floating meant remembering and remembering meant pain. Nobody likes pain.

He walked away from the office and began the trek to the library when he heard a mumble behind him.

"Weasley," Pansy called.

Ron spun around and looked at her. The window nearby illuminated the right side of her face and not the left. There was a mark near her cheek.

"Yes," he spoke without meaning to, he meant to turn back around and carry on walking.

"Your shoelace is undone," she said while she waved her wand and the shoe laced itself. Without another word she walked off ahead of him.

He followed slowly, to avoid association and found himself at the library holding the door open behind him for a Ravenclaw with a stack of books higher than her tiny body.

He seated himself in a corner and had to wait all of three minutes before he was joined by a frizzy haired Hermione and a grinning Harry.

"We have good news and bad news," Harry said.

"When will you stop being the bringer of bad news," Ron retorted.

"When Hagrid stops thinking that Dragons are completely harmless,"Harry drummed his fingered on the desk whilst Hermione opened a book to a bookmarked page.

"Look at this," she pointed at a image of some Runes.

"Feast your eyes Ronald," Harry was sarcastic.

"I've no clue what you two are on about, have you been sleeping in this library and going looney or is it just me," Ron asked.

"It's just you," Harry smiled.

However Ron didn't hear him as Hermione had began speaking over him, explaining that the Runes were explaining a method of memory restoration. It was rather complicated but she supposed she could achieve it in time if she practiced.

"What do you mean practice?" Bewildered by her expression, he turned to Harry.

"That's the bad news, I'm going to need you and Harry as test subjects as such.

"Mione," He could only begin. She began to speak at breakneck speed.

"I'm really sorry Ron but this is important, I wouldn't eat to put anyone in danger , you know that and it know know me. I will only obliviate tiny parts of your memory that you don't require and then restore them, nothing major I promise."

"Relax, I was going to say yes," Ron said. He thought of a moment.

"Though I do have an idea," He said.

"What's that?" She asked

"Why don't you do some of the experimenting on good old Malfoy?" He smirked.

"Actually that's not a bad idea, ferrets are similar to rats," Harry laughed.

"Will you two keep quiet," Hermione tried to keep a straight face but all she could muster was a faint giggle.


	5. This aint a scene

_15 Sept 1998_

Hermione had had enough. There was simply too much to do and too little time, it was a classic dilemma that could be solved if she simply asked for some help. Help was sort of out of the question. On one hand she had to finish up the foot long essay for the marriage law homework and on the other hand she had to decode the section of Runes or she would fall behind and miss Christmas with her family. Of course she could just learn the Runes at her own pace but she was Hermione Granger and she was determined to succeed

So Hermione hatched a plan. She would call Ron over and get him to start going over the next chapter of the Runes book while she used Harry as an encyclopaedia for the assignment. The hardest and longest part of any project was the research and luckily, Harry had done all of that.

Ron had been hanging around by the poached eggs after he had officially had lunch. Hermione wasted no time in grabbing him by the arm and pulling him away from grabbing more food to tell him to meet her in her room at four with Harry and their assignments. He didn't have time to ask questions as she swiftly fumbled her way back to the door and up the stairs.

But of course, at four in the afternoon with the sun at half mast, Hermione found Ron and Harry knocking on the door with a foot of parchment in each hand.

"Well, hello there Madam," Ron answered.

"Come in, Malfoy's in his room. I heard him wake up at three, I suspect he is involved in some kind of ritual." Hermione ushered them through the doorway.

"It must be beauty related," Ron retorted.

"Let's just get started shall we?" Harry rubbed his hands and sat down on the couch.

It would be another two agonising hours later before he rose again to visit the toilet. The two hours had been spent bickering and laughing and occasionally making progress. Of course he had only been talking about himself and Ron, Hermione had been making marginally more progress than they had.

It struck him as odd that here he was, peeing right next door to the room of the boy, no, man who he had been enemies with for years. They couldn't be enemies anymore, the war was over and Harry had no more hatred left in him. Sure, he still had the drive to make sure the wizarding community was safe and that muggleborns were not being oppressed. But surely allowing the prejudice of purebloods as Voldemort sympathisers would be hypocritical. So, he continued to extend a non-threatening but unfriendly hand to those on the opposing side of the war much like the rest of the order.

There were always exceptions though and Molly Weasley was one of them. The woman refused to partake in any post war reconciliation efforts. Harry supposed that was alright as long as she didn't start getting violent. They all had fought, and they all deserve to choose to forgive or simply forget.

Harry wandered back to the lounge area and returned to his spot on the couch. He winced as he accidentally sat on Hermione's quill and looked up to see why she had abandoned it. Hermione was quietly standing over a stretched out Ron on the opposite sofa. Ron was staring blankly at the ceiling with his mouth agape.

"Mione! What's happened?" Harry asked.

"Ron accidentally tried a bit of the magic on himself," Hermione whispered.

"What do you mean accidentally?" Harry raised his eyebrows.

"You know Ron! Always goofing off," Hermione scoffed but her expression softened.

"What are we waiting for? Fix him!" Harry said.

"I don't know how to," Hermione murmured.

"What do you mean, you don't know how to? You're Hermione know-it-all Granger! What are going to do if you don't know?" Harry all but screamed.

"How do you think I became a know-it-all? I read books, I haven't read this one yet!" Hermione was red in the face, worried and frustrated she leaned back onto the wall and nearly crushed Draco's passing form.

"Why are your friends creating a racket?" Draco's voice was calm, he held back his annoyance.

"That's none of your business!" Hermione shrieked.

"Well, I suggest you don't keep your business to yourself, the red one's turned blue," Draco non-chalantly waltzed out of the room.

"I'm sorry Mione, he's right. If you can't fix him, and Merlin knows I can't help him, we should go to the hospital wing," Harry wiped his brow and looked to her.

"Come on then, I'll levitate him," Hermione sighed.

* * *

 _19 Sept 1998_

It had been three days since Ron had been admitted to St Mungos. Hermione and Harry were still worried about him but they had lulled themselves into a void that included doing homework, visiting Ron and reading the Rune book.

Nobody had yet to comment on the unusualness of Ron's accident which Hermione had explained to the mediwitches as 'Ron's eagerness to study without the threat of the dark lord who he help to defeat.' It seemed to work and she and Harry had escaped intense questioning. But today that looked like it would change.

Hermione entered her rooms to find Draco lounging on the couch with a thick book in his hand. She didn't think anything of it until he lifted the cover and she caught a glimpse of the title.

Gasping she reached for it but Draco held it away.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked.

"What are _you_ doing?" Hermione retorted.

"Me? Oh I'm just reading a lovely old book that your friend Potter left lying on the couch. Nothing special is it?" Draco sneered.

Hermione blanched and looked down at him, "No,"

"This is the book Weasley was reading when he started getting ill, isn't it?" Draco asked. His voice softened considerably.

"What does it mean to you?" Hermione took the opportunity to grab the book out of his hands.

"I might know a guy that can help you get Weasley back to normal," Draco offered.

"How do you know that the mediwitches are already helping him?" Hermione scoffed.

"Because, my family used to fund the hospital, I know how competent they are," Draco grinned.

Hermione noticed how he said 'my family' instead of 'my father'. She looked at him carefully.

"I'm not your friend because of this, I owe you a favour," Hermione settled.

"Of course, I would never want to be friends with a wild cat, you never know when they might bite," Draco laughed in a way that filled the hollow room with only more emptiness.


End file.
